Getting Sidetracked!

Hello Child of God,

I hope that you are having a blessed week and not getting side tracked from God's presence as you go about your daily life.

I am going to try and give you some pointers in this post about when you are getting side tracked and how to overcome it. As a Christian you should already know that the enemy is always out to get you, laying traps along your narrow path to distract you and we need to be vigilant of this.

When I first thought about writing this post I was getting sidetracked conveniently so lol. I was strengthening my prayer life by kneeling every night to pray before I sleep and playing music that brings me to that place of worship and praise, and this was happening every night for almost about 2 weeks. I was enjoying my new routine, the presence of God and peaceful sleep(I can't sleep well or long if I have not prayed).

And recently as well, I was getting side tracked from fasting. I was giving myself reasons that I am not healthy enough, my lethargy will get me. I was making so many excuses and one of them was, I won't last a day and that is when I realised that this is not from God. So I made myself fast for a day impulsively( I don't suggest you do this) and had to rely on God to take me through it and got humbled.

The first thing you should notice is getting comfortable in your habit. Meaning that you do not seek for more. You don't want to amplify yourself. You are happy staying at that same position, being reading the bible on Sunday only or something of that state.

Second thing is altering your difficult habit to make it easier for you. And this goes along with being comfortable. I started praying lying in bed instead of going on my knees and that was it, I would make an excuse that it is cold. At some point I stopped playing the gospel music before bed which then did not put me in the space that I needed to be to go on my knees. Not that I need to be put a space to pray but if I can make that easy and readily accessible then so be it.

Being embarrassed by praying in public or reading your bible in public would be the third thing. I used to only say Grace for food at home or restaurants when I am with friends, but not at work. It is a very small thing to overlook but it will affect your prayer life.

Lastly is making excuses to do anything that brings you close to God. That alone should indicate that this not God's voice. And when you make an excuse once it is easier to make it again. Funnily bad habits become very easy to get used to than the ones that require effort and are for our own good.

When you miss your prayer , and you remember that you missed it , pray at that moment. If it's before you sleep, get out of bed(yes I do too) and pray. God will appreciate your effort. I believe it is far better giving a heartfelt prayer with your mind and body fully awake than lying in bed and being like "God I forgot to pray so here I am. Amen". Prayers done in bed for me have proven to be very useless because I would fall asleep before I even say Amen.

Once you have established a habit, a time slot for prayers, reading your bible etc. Don't stray from it but instead do more of it. Read your bible more, get to know the Word more, listen to uplifting music more. Seek to be in his presence more. The more you practice the more effortless it becomes.

When an excuse comes to mind challenge it. Bring it forth to God. Ask yourself if it is worth losing that precious moment you're sowing into your life and potentially others as well. I got angry with myself when I noticed that I had stopped creating that lovely ambiance that just dropped to my knees and I realised the dangers of allowing a second of an excuse just to be "regular" for a day, to take a break from my virtues. That break is not needed. Always assess where you are in your walk, especially if you used to do something awesome for God daily and now you realised that you suddenly stopped but you don't know how.

I know we lead a busy life but God is omnipresent so he knows where your heart is at all times. Take advantage of your busy schedule to use it for his glory. Pray in the bus/taxi/train, pray for the passengers or read your bible. Listen to uplifting music throughout the day to remember him. And this helps a lot in edifying your character to be like that of Christ.

I hope that this blesses and encourages you to stay in your narrow path, resisting the enemy! Share with us the moments where you have been side tracked and how did you move past that.Until next post, God bless...

17. Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.